Law Firm Spammed Our Investors, Contends Ex-Client in Fee Dispute
Without the permission of its then-client, Skyworks Ventures Inc., a New York law firm sent spam e-mail to the video game company’s investors seeking to perform legal work, contends the New Jersey-based company in an ongoing case.
Sued by Scarola Ellis over a disputed bill, Skyworks contends that Scarola Ellis overcharged, used its confidential and proprietary information without permission and violated the CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) Act by failing to provide an easy way for recipients of the unauthorized e-mails to to opt out, reports the New Jersey Law Journal.
“I don’t know if anyone lost money as a result of the spams,” says attorney William Pinilis of Pinilis Halpern in Morristown, N.J., who represents Skyworks. But “I know these people don’t necessarily want the world to know about their investments,” he continues, saying that investors were angry about the e-mails from the law firm.
Rabinowitz Lubetkin & Tully of Livingston, N.J., represents the Scarola firm and says its client has done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, the Scarola firm has been attempting for more than a year to collect unpaid legal fees from Skyworks.
Skyworks is asserting breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims and seeking compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Originally filed in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Jersey, the case has since been removed to U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J.
